What are METs?

METs is a relative measure of the physiological capacity to do an activity. For example, when a person is at rest (aka basal metabolic rate) he/she is at 1 MET, whereas running a 10 minute per mile pace (6.0 mph) is equivalent to 10 METs. When performing a fitness test on Precor equipment, the result is an estimate of an individual's physiological capacity or max MET level.

In a cardiac rehab application, the patient usually has a limited capacity or MET level. In this situation, it is appropriate to exercise at certain percentage of the patient's capacity, starting around 50 - 60% of his/her max MET level. Therefore, if the exercise equipment displays the work level in terms of METs, the patient can be prescribed the proper exercise level.

The Precor 830 cardio product line with the P30 console has METs as an extra metric that can be displayed on the message line during the workout. The 880 product line with the P80 console also displays METs, however the 820 line and the new 810 do not.